


What do you do with a healthy soldier?

by Kuro_Guardian



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), marvel movies
Genre: And it never works out for her, BAMF!Tony, Gen, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Reddit Writing Prompt, The needs of the Many..., Wanda does what she wants, broken!tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 05:37:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11306799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuro_Guardian/pseuds/Kuro_Guardian
Summary: And she said, “Why don’t you do something decent for once in your life?”





	What do you do with a healthy soldier?

And she said, “Why don’t you do something decent for once in your life?” Well no, it was more that she screamed it with that glittering storm of red around her. And Tony just sort of shivered with his head bowed like a dog waiting for a kick … But Wanda had stopped and honestly Tony could be very wearing on a person. He didn’t mean any harm, but he also didn’t know when to stop. So… so it had seemed like the best thing to do was to just have Tony leave.

  
And later the image will come to Steve – the awkward grimace pretending to be a grin; the stuttering cadence of Tony’s steps; the curving of his shoulders as though he awaited a shot to the back. Later that will come back to haunt Steve, but at the time he had shook his head at the sheer obnoxiousness Tony insisted on. And Wanda had stood there silent and watching in that strange way of hers.

But it shouldn’t have mattered. That should have been the end of it. That should have been the end of the whole sorry business. And then no one could find hair nor hide of Sam. It was like he fell off the edge of the world. No sign of kidnapping nor foul play. And Tony couldn’t seem to trace him although he tried so hard. Ran himself several kinds of ragged until each eye carried a full traveler’s set of luggage beneath it. “I don’t need to rest Steve. I need to find Sam. I should have – fuck.”

And maybe that would have been the end of the trail; only Natasha had managed to find parts of Red Wing. It took them a week and a half to trace the faint signal, but eventually they found its source. And it was hot enough that the street beneath their feet gave off the scent of nickel and dry stone. It was also deadly quiet as hundreds of eyes watched their progress toward a building that had hopefully seen better days. And the little boy who opened the door had Sam’s eyes.

  
The girl that ran up behind the child had Sam’s hands – but neither seemed the right color to be his child. What with the boy being Hispanic and the girl Caucasian. And none of the team knew what to say except Natasha. Natasha had them stomping down the musty hallway into a playroom filled with crippled children as young as four and as old as sixteen and their new things.

  
Red Wing had apparently been remade into a dozen little toys and gee-has and assisting devices for the underserved children. And their eyes were so big and bright and untrusting it seemed a shame to deprive them. Tony said it wasn’t like it would serve anyone – that any pertinent data would be long gone anyway. Natasha agreed, but the cast of her eyes was like a dagger thrown. And Wanda looked worried as her hands worried themselves a worrisome red.

  
But asking about her just made her shake her head and back away. And Tony promised he’d keep an eye out for Sam. “Hell I’ll do you one better and keep out two. Don’t worry Cap. He’s like a bad penny, he can’t help but turn up.” And Natasha’s hand had tightened around Clint’s elbow as they studied the little man like he was a puzzle they didn’t like. But looking back it had been easy to ignore it – especially watching Tony entertain the children.

  
Only Tony stayed gone more than he came around. And Sam never did turn up anywhere. Sam stayed gone and after a while it could have been like he never was. He wasn’t the only one – Natasha and Client both fell off the radar. It made sense for Client since he was retired, but Natasha was supposed to… She was meant to… She didn’t even leave a note, but then that didn’t sound much like her anyway. So Steve is left with the memory of her watching the rain and asking if he’s noticed anything strange about Tony. And she had been so disappointed when he had said no.

  
And asking Tony about any of this was like trying to catch the wind in a bottle. He was always going somewhere or talking to someone or doing something. He started schools and funded college departments and invested in the futures of thousands of potential scientists and researchers. He invented something called B.A.R.F. and something else called N.A.N.I.

  
He stuck his oar into biomechanical technology and advanced it by over a century. Organ transplants, organ regrowth, organ substitutes… and that was just the tip of the iceberg. They weren’t just as good as the real thing, they were better and there were whispers of “trans-humanism”. Some people called Tony a monster, but most people were painting him as humanity’s savior. And what Steve could understand about it all seemed really great.

  
Although seeing the actually products always made him a bit uncomfortable. The eyes that reminded him of Sam’s or the hands that were like Clint’s or the legs and feet that resembled Natasha’s. But obviously Tony was just using what he knew and that was fine. And if there were a real problem surely Vision would have something to say about it all. Only it’d been a while since Steve had seen Vision or really anyone around. The compound echoes with the silence.

  
And no one knew where Vision or Wanda were. No one knew where a lot of people were. Some lawyer from Hell’s Kitchen. Some kid from Queens? Some ex-criminal with a sweet smile and a daughter who misses him. People were disappearing – “You’re half right Rogers. Very specific people are vanishing. People with more than human abilities. More than human bodies. You need to be careful.” And Steve nodded like he cared, but Hill never quite seemed to understand the situation.

  
Because he needs to be looking; because a certain apartment in Europe has been raided. He needs to find Bucky. And he can’t ask that of Tony, but he’s being using Stark’s equipment and resources for years now. And he doesn’t know for sure – might never know… But it’s for Bucky and so he has to – Steve needs to man up and take it on the chin.

  
But it just might be a moot point because Tony is busy with eyes that almost glow with the intensity of his focus. “There isn’t time Cap. I need to – I’m wasting my life. He told me not to, but I am except I can do better. I can.” And it’d only take a second to call Ms. Potts. Just a swipe of the thumb. Because Tony obviously needs someone to have a look after him.

  
Except Tony is looking at him with fever bright eyes and tousled hair. “Hey.” And his voice is like his smile all kinds of embarrassed and shy. “I’m sorry. It’s just. I’m not getting any younger and Wanda was right. She was right. I need to do more for others. But I need your help first, okay?” It’d take a second to call, but it’s good to see one of the others safe and Tony has always been an odd duck. It’s nothing.

  
There are no straps. There is no need for them. He’s been de-limbed and Tony is buried up to his elbows inside him to – Steve gasps and realizes that he isn’t inhaling. He swallows or tries to only to become horribly aware of the tubes and wires sprouting out of his neck. Tony – Stark. Stark is muttering something so quickly it might as well be squirrel chatter. It makes about as much sense to be honest.

  
A blink and what should be a scream. It’s like his eyes are raw nerves and someone just rubbed lemon juice and salt into them. “Oh, you’re awake. Could have sworn I gave you enough. I mean I’ve practiced with Barnes.” And there’s a ripple that runs through Stark. Like electricity running through a block of gel. Like lightning tracing a path through shrieking nerves. “Yeah. I can tell by your face that you understand. But it had to happen – and honestly it didn’t feel too bad. I mean it’s helping people, but then again he killed them.”

  
And the words are so quiet and simple like tossing a used wrapper over your shoulder. Brown eyes so intent they might as well be empty. “When were you going to tell me that? I mean you hate when people don’t tell you things… right?” And there’s something hidden there. Something like a knife maybe or a razorblade carefully slotted into an apple. Imagine the moment when the roof of your mouth parts and all you taste is salt and iron.

  
“When were you going to tell me?” And there are so many things to say, but Steve can’t talk. Something rolls and writhes in his gaping maw. “Yeah. I took out your tongue first. Sorry. Not sorry. I was angry and I have to be… I have to be better. I should be. I’m sorry.” Tony keeps saying that, but it’s like a verbal tic. It doesn’t mean anything, because Stark’s got a look on his face like a knife being sharpened. Ain’t nothing good going to come from it. And his eyes are as deep and dark and empty as an open grave.

  
Fuck. And Steve could kick himself for not seeing the problem - or rather he could kick himself for not wanting to see the problem. But he hasn’t got any choice now and it’s impossible not to see how the weight has been pared from Stark’s face and frame. It’s impossible to miss the scars – the kind that come from someone defending themselves. Or the joining spots where machine melds with flesh.

  
That’s not the damning thing – the damning thing is that he couldn’t look to see. Because if he had then he would have had to admit that Wanda had done harm. He would have had to admit that Stark was the last person to talk to Sam. Would have had to admit Natasha had tried to talk to him about Stark. Would have had to admit that only two people could have gotten close enough to Vision to take him out. Or that Wanda – that she had said she was scared of Stark.

  
He makes a sound and Stark’s head tilts like a curious dog. “That almost sounded like a question. Maybe the ever clichéd “why”. Do you really want to know? Okay.” Head nodding like a broken puppet’s Stark wraps his arms around himself and seems to wander off. Blinking is slightly less painful now, but Steve’s vision is rather shot. The general gloom of the area doesn’t help either.

  
“Our origins are kind of the same… as far as being so-called “superheroes”. There were doctors – nice, old guys with glasses. And they ended up getting shot after helping us become more. And your doctor told you to be a good guy, but my doctor told me not to waste my life. Even though it was my fault he wanted to die. My weapons killed his family after all.”

  
The words don’t make much sense or – no they don’t make a lick of sense, but worse they seem to come from everywhere and Steve can admit he’s more than a little scared. Hard not to be especially with the fog from earlier quickly waning. Pain that shines – bright and relentless and demanding. Makes it hard to think, but he has to keep it together. Listening becomes the floor and ceiling of his world as he tracks Stark’s footsteps.

  
“But see we both forgot about that. I think. You became a self-righteous prick of a bully, and I became a craven coward too busy begging for affection to do what needed to be done.” There’s a clatter and a curse and then the sound of something being dragged. “So then little Ms. Mindfuck decides it’s a good idea to lay a serious whammy on me. And at first, like an idiot, I tried to fight it… And then I realized … I realized what a boon it was. No more excuses. No more worries or fears. I could just do what I needed to do.” And suddenly Tony’s there holding up something that might have once been a man named James.

  
The rictus plastered on Tony’s face is just this side of a smile. “Yeah, he’s a little worse for wear. But like in my defense… He didn’t want to listen. None of them did really. So stupid and small-minded.” The thing gives what could be a moan, but it’s hard to tell considering the ruin of its – his face. The – it’s all a mess somewhere between a melted manikin and a skint rat. Steve’s throat gives a painful jump as the smell that assaults him causes reflexive vomiting.

  
“What’s the matter Steve? Don’t you get it? You and the others are – you’re the leap we’ve been looking for. The toolset that will let us be so much more than what we currently are. And this is so much better than what went before. A couple of enhanced individuals can only do so much, but police forces and armies filled with carefully enhanced individuals will save this world.”

  
Bucky is laid on the floor as Stark continues to ramble. There has to be a way out, but what the hell can a torso missing most of its guts do? “So yeah, that was my fault. I should have realized that a single intelligence could never hold up to hundreds if not thousands if not millions of minds in enhanced bodies. But I can fix that now and I am. And I really appreciate you helping with that.”

  
And no collection of words has ever been so casually menacing. A feeling that grows worse as Stark unbuttons his shirt to reveal a very recent scar right over where his heart should be. Stark’s eyes are so cold as he tries another smile that doesn’t reach them. “I mean I have to be here, but my old heart was never going to get better. So thanks. I’m sure it’ll grow back. So much else has… I’ve had to prune back and cauterize your legs twice today.”

  
Steve realizes that he should be panicking, but it’s easier to just … Everything is getting dark and dim around the edges and Stark just watches before reaching out to check something. “Okay big guy. It’s time for you to go back to sleep. I need to harvest your kidneys and then your corneas should be just about ready for harvesting. Did you know Clint was far-sighted? Damnedest thing. Good night Captain.”


End file.
